1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and image processing method, a storage medium, and a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and image processing method, a storage medium, and a program, adapted to record information indicating a process to be performed on an image in association with a feature value of the image thereby allowing it to reproduce the processed image each time the image is played back.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many techniques to easily processing images are available.
Most techniques of editing an image taken by a video camera or the like are based on a linear editing method in which when original image data is being played back, various processes are performed on the played-back image and a resultant image is recorded on a storage medium.
However, the linear editing has a problem that when original image data is protected in a copy-once mode, if the original image data is once recorded on a recording apparatus such as a VTR (Video Tape Recorder), it is not allowed to record an image obtained by editing the image played back from the recording apparatus.
To avoid the above problem, there is proposed a technique to record an operation performed to specify a process to edit an image (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-202944).
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a known technique of recording and editing an image is described below. In FIG. 1, a horizontal axis indicates “time” of a content recorded, wherein “time” is represented by time code. In FIG. 1, a vertical axis indicates a setting-value recorded and played back. Herein, the setting-value is, for example, a zoom ratio, coordinates of a zoom point, an image parameter such as brightness, contrast, or color, etc.
At the top of FIG. 1, a shaded part of a content indicates a part subjected to editing. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the same part of the content is played back three times or more, and an effect/edit control operation performed on the content is recorded and played back in synchronization with the content.
In the second part immediately below the top part of FIG. 1, a setting-value recorded in a first-time effect/edit control operation is shown. In the first-time effect/edit control operation, as shown in FIG. 1, recording of the setting-value is started when the effect/edit control operation starts, and the recording is ended when the effect/edit control operation ends. Note that at the start point T1 at which recording of the setting-value is started, the setting-value has a normal value. If an operation end button or the like is operated at the end point T2, the effect/edit control operation is ended, and accordingly recording is ended. Thus, in many cases, a discontinuous change in setting-value occurs at the end of the effect/edit control operation, that is, the setting-value returns discontinuously to the normal value at the end of the effect/edit control operation as is the case in the example shown in the second part of FIG. 1.
In the third part, below the second part, of FIG. 1, a setting-value recorded in a second-time effect/edit control operation is shown. In the second-time effect/edit control operation, in this example, the part of the content subjected to the process (from the effect/edit control operation start point T1 to the effect/edit control operation end point T2) is partially modified. More specifically, an operation for modification is started at a modification start point T3 and is ended at a modification end point T4. That is, in the second-time effect/edit control operation, when the same content as that subjected to the first-time effect/edit control operation is being played back, an effect/edit control operation different from that performed in the first-time effect/edit control operation is performed from the modification start point T3 to the modification end point T4 as shown in the third part of FIG. 1.
In the third part of FIG. 1, a broken line indicates the setting-value recorded in the first-time effect/edit control operation.
After the first-time effect/edit control operation is performed (that is, after the setting-value is recorded in the first-time effect/edit control operation), a user has to rewind the content to the effect/edit control operation start point T1 before the second-time effect/edit control operation is started. After the setting-value is recorded in the second-time effect/edit control operation, if the content is again rewound and played back, the setting-value is reproduced in such a manner as shown in the fourth part of FIG. 1. Note that in the second-time effect/edit control operation, the setting-value is overwritten on the setting-value recorded in the first-time effect/edit control operation. Thus, in many cases, a discontinuous change occurs in the setting-value at the end of the overwritten part.
Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2C, a specific example of an effect/edit control operation is described below. FIG. 2A shows a first-time effect/edit control operation and a setting-value recorded in the first-time effect/edit control operation. FIG. 2B shows a second-time effect/edit control operation and a setting-value recorded in the second-time effect/edit control operation. FIG. 2C shows a setting-value recorded as an overall result of the first and second effect/edit control operations. In each of FIGS. 2A and 2B, an upper part shows a setting-value, and a lower part shows an effect/edit control operation.
In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the first-time effect/edit control operation is performed such that an operation signal such as that shown in the lower part of FIG. 2A is output from a controller in accordance with an operation performed on the controller by a user, and a corresponding setting-value is recorded as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2A. Note that the setting-value is given by the integral of the amount of the operation performed on the controller. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, a “positive operation” refers to a positive effect/edit control operation such as enlarging of an image, and a “negative operation” refers to a negative effect/edit control operation such as reducing of an image.
In the example shown in FIG. 2A, a positive effect/edit control operation is performed in a period from an effect/edit control operation start point T1 to an effect/edit control operation end point T11 (see the lower part of FIG. 2A), and the integral of the amount of the operation is recorded as the setting-value. Thus, the recorded setting-value gradually increases as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2A. In a period from a point of time T11 to a point of time T12, a negative effect/edit control operation is performed, and thus the resultant setting-value gradually decreases. After the point of time T12, a positive effect/edit control operation and a negative effect/edit control operation are performed, and a setting-value is recorded in accordance with the operations.
If an operation end button (a record end button) on the controller is operated at the point of time T2, recording of the setting-value is ended. When the recording is ended, the setting-value is returned to the normal value. As a result, the setting-value is recorded as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2A.
As shown in the lower part of FIG. 2B, if a second-time effect/edit control operation is performed on the content subjected to the first-time effect/edit control operation such that a positive effect/edit control operation is performed in a period from a time T3 to a time T21 and a negative effect/edit control operation is performed in a period from the time T21 to a time T4, then a setting-value is recorded in the period from the time T3 to the time T4 as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2B.
In the second-time effect/edit control operation, the integral of the amount of the effect/edit control operation is added to the setting-value recorded at the point of time T3 in the first-time effect/edit control operation. When the effect/edit control operation is ended at the point of time T4, the setting-value is returned to the setting-value recorded at the point of time T4 in the first-time effect/edit control operation.
A setting-value produced as a result of the solidification is recorded as represented by a solid line in the upper part of FIG. 2B (that is, the setting-value is modified to the value represented by the solid line). Thus, after the second-time effect/edit control operation, the overall setting-value is recorded as shown in FIG. 2C.